Brands
Brands in US pause political donations after Capitol Hill episode
NEW DELHI: Multiple brands in the US have decided to pause political donations to both Republicans and Democrats following Wednesday's Capitol siege. These include the likes of JPMorgan, Citibank, Facebook, and Microsoft.
Media reports say that JPMorgan will pause all political funding for at least six months, Citibank for the remainder of the quarter, and Facebook for the next three months.
Other companies that are following the suite include 3M, Dow, Marriott, and Morgan Stanley. These companies have expressed their discontentment around the Capitol Hill attacks and have stated that the focus of all the leaders should be on governing and helping those who need it. Some organisations have decided to suspend political contributions to representatives and senators who voted against the certification of Biden’s election last week.
FedEx, Target, CVS Health, AT&T, and Walmart are among the companies currently reviewing their positions on political contributions
Facebook told Axios it would pause political donations to the Democrats and the GOP for at least three months. The social media giant also indefinitely suspended Trump's Facebook account on Thursday, which will last at least until President-elect Biden is inaugurated on January 20.
Microsoft is also freezing all political donations for the remainder of the quarter, Ashley Gold of Axios reported.
The attack that took place last Wednesday left five people dead and several injured. There was an intense clash between the police authorities and local people after they were incited by the outgoing US president Donald Trump.
People across the world condemned the attacks and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have suspended Trump’s account, citing the risk of him disturbing the peace in the country.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
